Lord Shen's Atonement
by Shadougelover14
Summary: Shen is found alive by a young girl, and is intent on revenge against the ones who defeated him. But will he get revenge, or will the girl be able to help him change his ways?
1. I'm Alive?

"Hey…mister, are you okay?"

He stirred, but didn't wake up.

_It must be a dream…I'm dead…_

"Hello? Mister? Can you hear me?"

Something poked his head, then again, and again.

"Come on mister, nap time's over. You gotta wake up!"

He moaned slightly, and slowly cracked his eyes open. Everything was blurry at first, but steadily came into focus. A young peacock wearing a green robe was staring down at him with curious yellow eyes.

"You okay mister?" she asked.

"…Who…who are…you?" he asked weakly.

"My name's Kaiya."

"Where am I?"

"My front yard. I woke up and you were lying on the shore. You don't look too good, maybe you should come inside for a little bit."

"But…I could've sworn I was dead…the cannon fell on me and…"

Kaiya gave him a strange look.

"I don't think you're dead mister, but just to be sure,"

Kaiya wacked him with the stick she'd been holding.

"OW! What was that for?" he yelled.

"Nope, you're not dead. What's your name by the way, mister?"

"…Shen. Lord Shen."

"Nice to meet ya."

Shen stared at her a little confused.

"You have no idea who I am do you?" he asked.

"No. Should I? Are you like a king or something?"

"Not really, at least, not anymore…"

"You mean you got kicked out? Did you do something bad?"

"No just drop it! It's none of your concern!"

Kaiya stared at him with wide eyes, then nodded.

"Okay, I get it. If you don't wanna talk about it, that's okay."

Shen gave her another strange look.

"You're wing doesn't look too good. You should probably get that checked out." Kaiya remarked.

Only then did Shen feel the searing pain in his right wing. He lifted it up and saw it was broken in several places. He flinched at another pang as he tried to move it.

"Come inside, I've got some medical stuff, maybe I can help."

Kaiya led him inside a small shack, and he settled in a corner while Kaiya pulled out a wooden box and sat next to him.

"Now let's see, we'll need some gauze, and something to clean that with…"

She pulled out various objects, then set to work on Shen's wing.

"You know an awful lot about medical procedures for a child." Shen remarked.

"I have to. I'm the only one who can take care of me around here."

"What about your parents?"

Kaiya paused for a second.

"They're gone. I don't know where they are, or if they're still alive, or what. They vanished a couple of years ago, and I've been on my own ever since."

Shen stayed silent as Kaiya continued treating his wing. After putting it in a sling, she put the box away, and set a bowl of soup in front of Shen.

"So, how old are you?" he asked as Kaiya sat across from him.

"Ten."

"Tell me, how is it you've managed to live out here all on your own, and manage as well as you've been."

"I don't know, I just do. It's not that hard actually, I can go on noodles for weeks. There's this great place in the Valley of Peace, I went there once. It was really good, and the owners were really nice. There was a goose and a big panda-" 

"A panda?" Shen exclaimed.

"Y-yeah, he's the owner's kid, although, I don't think they're related."

"So, that's where he is…the Valley of Peace, you said?"

"Yep, nice place. My…parents took me there, when I turned four. I've been wanting to go, but it's a really long way to travel by myself."

Shen thought for a moment.

_This could be my chance for vengeance, and this girl can lead me right to him…_

"Say, Kaiya, in return for you hospitality, how would you like to go to the Valley of Peace again?"

Kaiya's eyes brightened in joy.

"Really? You mean it? Wow, I would love to! Thanks Lord Shen! I can show you the best places to shop there, and the Jade Palace!"

Shen smirked.

"I'd also like to visit that noodle shop you mentioned."

"Of course! That'll be stop number one!"

While Kaiya was naming all the places they could go, Shen chuckled to himself. This was going to be too easy.


	2. The Journey Begins

"_The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now."_

"_You're right. Then I choose…THIS!"_

_Shen lunged at Po with a flurry of blades, failing to notice he was cutting the ropes holding up the large cannon. Only when they both heard the creak of the heavy metal and snaps of the remaining ropes as the cannon fell did they look up. Po jumped out of the way. Shen glanced at him, and their eyes locked for a split second. _

_Po looked like he was about to shout something, but Shen looked back up at the cannon and shut his eyes, sadly accepting his fate._

_There was a loud crash, then a loud crack as the wood split. The deck Shen was on tilted, and he started sliding down toward the water. Pain suddenly exploded in his wing, then he hit water. He quickly sank, the heavy blades he carried weighing him down. _

_Then the cannon fell into the water, creating a large wave that sent him drifting out to sea. He tried to stay above the surface, but the metal was making that difficult. Finally he sank below, and he saw brief flashes of his life. The Soothsayer's prediction, his attack on the village of giant pandas, his banishment…the lonely days he spent before plotting his revenge._

_He managed to break the surface again, and found a piece of wood to cling to and stay afloat. He passed out due to his exhaustion. As he slept, he relived the horrid memories again, and again, and again…_

Xoxoxo

Shen jolted awake, panting heavily. He quickly glanced around his surroundings, and was relieved to see he was in Kaiya's shack, and not back in the water. The young bird was nestled in a nest of blankets, snoring softly. Shen was glad to see he hadn't woken her up; he wasn't in the mood for explaining anything.

He stood, and quietly made his way outside. He stopped next to the river where Kaiya had said she'd found him, and stared hard at the water.

He'd barely survived. Had the cannon been a few inches more to the right, and he would have been crushed to death. The shock of being so close to death must've caused him to forget how he'd ended up here.

And all because of that panda. He'd been so close to achieving his goal, and the so called Dragon Warrior had to stand in his way!

_No matter, I'll get my revenge soon enough. He will pay for everything!_

He looked up at the bright moon that was a few shades whiter than his feathers, and it gave the area an eerie silver glow. It was so bright, like the fireworks his parents used to mess with, putting on shows for the citizens of Gongmen City. While they wasted their time on fireworks, he found a way to rule China with the explosive powder used to fuel them, and it would have worked if that stupid panda hadn't intervened!

Shen shook his head. He couldn't dwell on failure.

"Lord Shen…?"

He turned to see Kaiya standing in the door way rubbing her eye with her wing.

"What're you doing up?" she asked.

"Nothing, just taking a short walk. Go back to bed." Shen replied, heading back inside. Kaiya merely shrugged and headed back for her bed. Shen settled in the corner again, and drifted back to sleep.

Xoxoxo

The next morning, Shen was woken up by a loud gong.

"Time to wake up!" Kaiya announced as Shen jolted onto his feet. He panted slightly, then regained his composure.

"Right, when did you wish to leave?"

"Any time's good with me. I got everything packed while you were sleeping."

Shen looked beside her and saw a few sacks.

"When did you get up?"

"About 6:30ish, why?"

"…Never mind. Let's go. We'll need to find a boat."

"I can do that. There's a dock a few minutes away."

"Okay, let's head out."

The two peacocks left the shack, and started towards the dock.

Xoxoxo

They found the dock, and were in luck. One boat was left, just big enough to carry them.

"Excuse me, would you mind two more passengers?" Shen asked.

The boatman, a fox, turned to him and Kaiya.

"How much you two got?" he asked.

"I don't have any money…" Kaiya muttered.

"Neither do I." Shen replied.

"Then I ain't takin' anyone anywhere."

"Kaiya set your bags over there while we negotiate."

Kaiya gave him a confused look but did as he said. While she went to the other side of the boat, Shen faced the fox.

"I told you, I'm not taking you or your friend anywhere." The boatman snapped.

"I believe you will." Shen said with a smirk.

"I'm not giving you feather heads a free ride just because you ask me-"

The boatman was cut off when the tip of Shen's sword was in his face.

"As you can see, I'm not asking you to do anything. If you choose not to, well, I'm perfectly capable of driving a boat, while you make friends with the fish."

The fox gulped. Kaiya was coming back over.

"Now, there's no need to make a scene for the girl." Shen muttered.

He quickly put the sword away and turned to Kaiya as she approached.

"Good news, the boatman has decided to let us ride for free, hasn't he?" Shen asked, looking at the fox expectantly.

"Y-yes." He replied.

"Really? Wow, thanks mister! You're a really nice guy!" Kaiya laughed.

The fox gave a nervous chuckle as he glanced at Shen, who merely smirked.

"Now then, let's shove off."

The fox pushed away from the peer, and remained silent at the wheel while Kaiya and Shen observed the passing scenery.

"How'd you convince the guy to give us a free trip?" Kaiya asked.

"I can be very persuasive when I need to be." Shen replied.

"Cool, maybe you can teach me how sometime, huh?"

Shen gave a small laugh.

"We'll see."

They passed a few boats, and some small villages. Kaiya smiled and waved at the passersby, who in turn laughed and waved back. Shen ignored them and thought about how he'd find the Five and the panda. First place he'd check, the noodle shop Kaiya mentioned. After that would be the Jade Palace.

"Hey Lord Shen?" Kaiya called, snapping him back to reality.

"Hm? What?"

"Where's everybody in that village at? No one's there."

Pointing out the village, Shen found himself looking at the last place he thought he'd see.

The abandoned panda village.

"I don't see anyone; maybe they're all on break or something." Kaiya said.

"Maybe…"

As they passed it, Shen saw smoke coming out of one of the shacks.

"Well, it looks like someone's there…" he muttered.

"You seem tense, something wrong?"

"No, let's just move on."

Shen turned away from the village and faced the other side of the boat while memories of that night rose. As far as he knew, only one panda had survived, and that was the one he was intent on finding.

Kaiya looked at him curiously, then back at the village. She saw one lone figure standing outside of the shack that had smoke coming out of it, it was an old goat. She was watching them intently. Kaiya waved with a smile, and the goat's gaze softened a little before returning it to a hard one and looking behind Kaiya. Kaiya followed her gaze to Shen, and looked back at the goat. The goat gave her head a slight shake, as if in warning.

Kaiya frowned in confusion, cocking her head slightly. Then the village disappeared behind the thick surrounding forest.

"Hey Lord Shen, I saw somebody in the village." Kaiya said.

"That village has been abandoned for years." Shen muttered.

"But I did see someone! It was some goat lady, and she was acting kinda weird."

Kaiya noticed Shen freeze slightly while he was turning to face her, his eyes wide with shock.

"Lord Shen?"

"It's nothing; just forget that village and that goat."

Shen faced away from her and glared at the water. Kaiya came up beside him and looked at the water as well.

"I haven't known you for too long, but I can tell you must have had a tough past." She murmured.

Shen continued glaring at the water.

"Don't worry though, just because your story had a bad beginning doesn't mean the rest of it has to be bad. You can choose who you want to be now."

At this Shen slowly looked at her. Those were the same words he'd heard the Soothsayer and the panda say. Why did it always come back to that?

"Where did you hear that?" he asked.

"From my parents, I'm not sure where they heard it from. I always think of that when I get sad about my parents."

Shen looked back at the water.

"If you don't mind me asking, where are your parents?"

Shen didn't reply at first, then sighed.

"Dead. Have been for years."

"Oh, sorry…"

"Never mind, let's just focus on getting to the valley…"

Kaiya didn't question him further, and simply stared at the passing scenery.

The moon was high in the sky when Shen felt something leaning against him. He looked down to see Kaiya resting against his shoulder, snoring slightly.

He considered shoving her away, but for some reason, when he looked at her innocent face, he couldn't help seeing himself, when he was younger. Careful not to wake Kaiya, Shen settled down, and let Kaiya continue leaning against him. Before falling asleep, Shen sighed to himself.

'_What're you doing Shen?'_ he thought.

Xoxoxo


	3. The Attack

"Shen wake up!"

Shen jumped slightly as he woke up. Kaiya stood beside him, shaking his shoulder.

"What? Did we sink? What?" he asked sleepily.

"No, this is our stop. I think the boatman drove the whole night. Come on, let's go."

Shen stood, and glanced at the boatman. The fox was helping Kaiya get her things off the boat. He looked exhausted.

'_He must've really wanted us off this boat.'_ Shen thought with a chuckle.

As he was getting off the boat, Shen looked at the boatman.

"Thank you for your services."

The fox just nodded, and the minute Shen stepped off the boat he shoved away from the peer and sailed off as fast as he could.

"Alright, now which way?" Kaiya asked.

She took out a map, and the two studied it for a few minutes.

"If we follow this trail past the mountain here, we should be there by tomorrow afternoon." Shen announced.

Kaiya nodded, and the two peacocks set out.

They passed through rice fields, rocky pastures, and at one point had to cross a river, which Shen found as a problem. Kaiya was able to easily cross, being smaller and lighter, and could easily jumped across on the rocks. Shen however, was bigger and heavier, added with his blades, so it was a slow process. One that ended with him slipping on the wet rock and falling in. Luckily it wasn't very deep, and he was able to trudge the rest of the way. He had to listen to Kaiya's laughter the whole way and 2 minutes after.

That wasn't the end of the problems though. The next thing that caused trouble was two long, rickety bridges. They couldn't even see the bottom, or how far down it was. Kaiya gulped.

"D-do we have to cross?" she asked.

"If you want to reach the valley, then yes." Shen replied.

He started across, but looked back when Kaiya didn't follow.

"I-I'm scared of heights." She said.

"Come on, it's not that far."

"Please can we find another way?"

"There is no other way. Unless you want fly across."

"I can't…I never learned how…"

"Then it looks like we're walking."

"Can't you fly us across?"

Shen held up his mended wing.

"Messed up wing, remember?"

"Oh…"

"Let's get started."

Kaiya gulped. She slowly took a step, then another, and followed Shen across without looking down.

"Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down." She kept repeating.

Shen sighed and rolled his eyes a little. About 10 minutes later, he reached the end, and turned around to wait for Kaiya. Another 5 minutes went by before she stumbled off the bridge.

"Now we just have to cross the last one." Shen stated.

Kaiya groaned as she looked at the remaining bridge.

"You go first."

Kaiya looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

"That way you reach the end quicker."

"No, no way. There is no way I'm-"

Shen pushed her onto the bridge and stepped on behind her to prevent her from getting off.

"Get going." He said.

Kaiya swallowed hard, and began slowly walking across. It was slower than before, and Shen was steadily losing patience.

"It's going to be next year before we reach the end, just walk faster and it'll be over with sooner." He called up to her after passing the halfway mark.

"Be patient, I'm going as fast as I can."

"Not fast enough."

Shen pushed her from behind, and she stumbled and grabbed onto the rope.

"Can't I just go back?"

"You're already over half way there, just keep going."

"Just let me off!"

She tried to run past him, but Shen stepped in her way, causing the bridge to sway.

"Don't do that!" Kaiya yelped as she clung to the rope.

"I'm sorry, do what? You mean this?"

Shen made the bridge swing to the right a little, and Kaiya yelped.

"Yes! Do that!"

"Yes, do that. Okay."

Shen made the bridge swing left and right, and Kaiya screeched as she scrambled backwards.

"Knock it off! I mean it! I'm gonna die!"

As she was yelling, she failed to notice she backed onto the rock where the bridge ended.

"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die I'm gonna…"

She paused, and realized she was off the bridge.

"Oh."

Shen stepped off the bridge with a triumphant smirk.

"There, that wasn't so bad was it?" he asked.

He walked past her, and she followed with a frown.

"_That wasn't so bad was it?_" she mocked under her breath.

Dusk fell, and they set up camp for the night. After lighting a fire, Kaiya pulled out a bag of marshmallows.

"Smore?" she asked.

"Some more what?" Shen asked.

"No, do you want a smore?"

"…"

Shen's face made it obvious he had no idea what she was talking about.

"You've never heard of a smore? Wow, you need to get out more."

Kaiya stuck two marshmallows on two sticks, and handed one to Shen.

"You just hold it over the fire until you think it's done. If it catches fire, just blow on it. I'll fill you in on the rest later." She explained.

After a few minutes, both marshmallows were well done, and Kaiya pulled out graham crackers and a chocolate bar.

"Alright, this is where it gets fun. Do you care if you get sticky?"

"Depends, with what?"

"Marshmallow. Here, let me see yours."

Kaiya took it, two crackers, and broke off a piece of chocolate. She placed the candy on one of the crackers, then squashed the marshmallow between the crackers. She pulled out a plate, set the smore on it, and handed it to Shen.

"Walla, a smore. Just be careful, it's a little hot."

Kaiya fixed hers, and immediately started eating. Shen sniffed it, then took an experimental bite. Although quite sticky, it actually tasted good.

"Pretty good, huh?" Kaiya asked.

"It's okay…" Shen muttered.

"I can't believe you've never heard of a smore until now. Didn't your parents take you camping or-"

She paused when she saw Shen's eyes narrow a little.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to upset you, honest I didn't. But…what happened with you and your parents that you seem to dislike them so much?"

"….I'm going to get more firewood."

Shen stood and left, leaving Kaiya by the fire.

"Nice going, Kaiya…" she muttered to herself.

As she stared at the fire, she chewed herself out in her head.

'_You idiot! Why would you say that? Why would you ASK that? It's obvious he's sensitive about his past, and I should understand that, I should know not to just bring that up out of nowhere like that!'_

Suddenly she heard a twig snap, and she faced the direction it came from.

"Lord Shen? Is that you?" she asked.

No answer.

"I-if you're mad about what I said, I understand, but you don't have to try and scare me if you want an apology."

She heard a laugh, and a wolf stepped out of the forest. 6 more followed him.

"Who…who are you?" Kaiya stammered, getting to her feet. She started backing away as the wolves closed in.

"What do you want? I-if you want money, I'm afraid we don't have any-"

"We don't want money." The first wolf growled.

"Then what do you want?"

"To get even."

"Even?"

"With Shen."

"Well, he'll be right back; you could wait and talk things out when he does."

"We're not the kind of people who talk things out. He's going to pay for blood with blood."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"He killed someone important to us, so we're going to kill someone important to him."

Kaiya gulped as she was backed in a rock face.

'_Please come back soon Lord Shen!'_

Xoxoxo

Shen meanwhile, was walking through the woods, picking up a stick every now and then.

'_Why should I care about my parents, they never cared about me! Why should I feel upset when they're mentioned?'_

He let out a dragged sigh, before pausing. He thought he heard voices. Maybe there were some other people camping nearby or something.

He started walking again, but his felt his foot step into a pit or something, and looked down. It wasn't a pit. It was a paw print; a wolf paw print.

"A wolf? Why would a wolf be around here?" he murmured.

Then he heard the howl of a wolf, and a scream that made him freeze.

"_Heeelp!"_

"Kaiya?"

He put two and two together, and although he didn't quite understand why, he ran for the camp site.

Xoxoxo

Kaiya dashed out of the way as the first wolf lunged at her. Another wolf blocked her way, and the group of wolves surrounded her.

"Just hold still kid and this'll be quick." The lead wolf growled.

He was about to jump at her, but suddenly there was a flash of silver, and a throwing knife was lodged into the ground between her and the wolf.

Then Shen landed between them, and the wolves growled and lunged at him, axes and swords raised. Shen pulled out a few throwing knives, and blocked all their blows. He kicked out at one that decided to get closer, and sent him flying into a tree. Another ran at him, but he threw his tail up, blocking the wolf's view of him. When Shen dropped his tail, he was holding a wavy sword, and swung at the wolf. The flat side of the blade hit the wolf on the side of the head. He was knocked to the ground beside the one by the tree. The first wolf swung his axe at Shen, but he blocked it with his sword. They jumped away from each other, and slowly circled each other while glaring at one another.

"So, how have you been, Lάng?" Shen asked with a smirk.

Lάng snarled at him.

"You gathered all these wolves just to get me? I must say, I'm flattered."

Lάng growled, and lunged at Shen. They blocked each other's blows with their weapons, and sparks flew from the colliding metal. Lάng jumped back with a growl, then let out a howl. He turned and ran into the woods, and the rest of the wolves followed suit.

Shen sighed, and turned to Kaiya. The younger peacock was standing with her beak hanging open.

"You're going to catch flies if you keep your mouth open like that." Shen stated.

Kaiya shook her head.

"That…was…"

Shen waited for her to freak out or run away or something.

"The COOLEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!"

Kaiya was practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"That was awesome! I didn't know you could do that! You're like a sword master or something!"

"_Like_ a sword master? Try _are_ a sword master."

"So, who was that guy?"

Shen sighed. "That was Lάng, and his little band of wolves. Or what's left of them."

"What did he mean by, you killed someone important to them?"

Shen didn't reply for a few minutes.

"He meant his brother. We knew each other in the past, but hit a little trouble, so he's a little cross with me."

"So you…killed his brother?"

Shen was silent for another few minutes.

"Yes…and it's a long story that I'd like to skip for now."

"Okay…"

"I'm turning in early, go to sleep whenever you want."

Shen turned away and settled down on the other side of the fire, facing away from her. Kaiya watched him for a few minutes, then watched the fire.

Xoxoxo


End file.
